Seduced by the Darkling. Lauren Hawkeye

her eyes tightly shut and pressed her fingers to her temples.

      This guy was crazy hot, but the emphasis was on the crazy.

      When she refocused her eyes, intending to ask him to tell her more, she found he’d disappeared. Blinking in disbelief, she looked frantically around the room.

      He had to be somewhere; no one could move that fast.

      There was nothing in the empty apartment besides the frantic pulse of her heart and the slightest movement of the teal curtains by her balcony.

      He was gone.

      Chapter Three

      Esme’s Magic Emporium was a small stand-alone store in an area of town that left quite a bit to be desired. The front door was heavy wood instead of the typical glass seen in modern businesses, and the air surrounding the shop seemed thick, laden heavily with something that Jazlyn couldn’t quite put her finger on.

      It was dusk, the sun a ball of fire hanging low and pregnant in the sky. The shop would be nearing closing time, and that was why Jazlyn had chosen that time. She didn’t want to risk running into anyone she knew, and though the shop was off the beaten path, there was a coffee shop nearby that she knew to be a favorite of the local police.